1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fixing device and an image forming apparatus, and in particular, to a fixing device that fixes toner images onto a sheet-shaped recording medium and an image forming apparatus including the fixing device.
2. Description of the Related Art
An image forming apparatus is known that includes an image carrier, an exposure device that irradiates the image carrier with modulated light to form a latent image, a developing device that causes toner to adhere to the latent image to produce a toner image, a transfer device that transfers the toner image onto a recording medium, and a fixing device including a fixing belt that fixes the toner image onto a sheet-shaped recording medium and the image forming apparatus forms an image onto the sheet-shaped recording medium.
An apparatus is known as one of this kind of image forming apparatuses that abrades the surface of a fixing belt to expose a new surface, thereby improving the surface condition of the fixing belt and improving image quality (refer to Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2007-34068, for example).
However, the image forming apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2007-34068 had a problem in that the surface of the fixing belt was abraded, and the life of the fixing belt was shortened.